Monthly Archives: November 2015

The human visual system is trichromatic as are many insect visual systems. Humans have red, green and blue color receptor types while many insects have green, blue and ultraviolet types. The molecular basis of these color receptors are … Continue reading →

This above image, Mites On Pupa, by Rogelio Moreno Gill won honorable mention at the 2015 Nikon Small World Photo Competition. Stacking software was used to merge a series of images for improved depth of field. The complex shapes and … Continue reading →

It is possible to create a plastron of pure oxygen by placing beetles without plastrons into an atmosphere of pure oxygen. When beetles with oxygen plastron submerge, the plastron shrinks over the first several days, then stabilizes. A plastron created … Continue reading →

The plastron of the long-toed beetle, Helichus striatus, does not form spontaneously when the beetle submerges. The beetle actively creates a plastron in a process that requires at least a half hour and more typically takes a couple of hours. … Continue reading →

The beetle, Helichus striatus, has hydrofuge hairs that hold the plastron (air bubble) in place. If the plastron is lost, the hydrophobic nature of the hairs dissipate and the hairs become hydrophilic. The hydrophobic coating must be replaced. Beetles that lose … Continue reading →

Helichus striatus is a “long-toed” beetle in the family Dryopidae. Although these beetles are aquatic, they do not swim, but cling to sticks and other floating detritus. They lack physical gills that are present in many groups of aquatic insects. … Continue reading →

Many insects have larvae that are aquatic but an adult that is terrestrial. Until early in the 20th Century, it was widely assumed that no adult insect could live under water for sustained periods. The French Biologist, F. Brocher, changed these beliefs … Continue reading →